Cornish Crabbers Club - Events & Logs

The weather did not improve overnight. More rain set in, and we awoke to a very grey wet and miserable morning. We had no choice but to make for Gosport. The rain continued to fall as we left our berths and gently motored down the misty river. One Crabber 26 ahead of me optimistically raised her main. When we reached the mouth of the river, we were welcomed by the stygian gloom of a fog bound Solent. It was genuinely difficult to see the boat ahead of you let alone anyone else. Our GPS plotter with AIS really came into its own. A fog bound Solent is not the same as a clear sky Solent and one can very quickly lose one’s sense of position. Modern instrumentation is a wonderful tool to have “in the box”. Winds were light and most people motored East and eventually made their entrance to Portsmouth Harbour via The Swashaway. The cloud had lifted by the time we arrived at Haslar. The highlight for a few as they arrived in Portsmouth Harbour was to be welcomed by “Derek the dolphin” who seems to have taken up harbour residence this summer. He had accompanied me into Portsmouth Harbour a week earlier. Later that day as we took our seats for dinner in the Lighthouse restaurant, Derek also made an appearance outside for us all. Thanks Derek!
On Thursday the fleet sailed to Bembridge, and we all had a very pleasant sail for a change. No motor sailing but proper sailing with all sails hoisted. The breeze was light but enough to allow us to have a comfortable sail across, timing our arrival with the rising tide - a much preferred option when approaching the twisty Bembridge entrance. By the time we were at Bembridge the fleet had depleted to 11, and then 10 by Friday. Thursday evening was fine and we decided to have a BBQ shore side using the excellent equipment provided by the Harbour Authority. This involved a quick dash by water taxi to a butcher in the village to secure supplies - we got there just as they were closing. However enough sausages/burgers/kebabs etc were procured to satisfy the hungry crews.

Friday was our last day and was spent sorting out our boats and getting ready to go home to our respective ports. We were paid a visit by an RNLI officer, a friend of John and Jacqui Frampton, who spent valuable time with us inspecting our life jackets ( not all were in order I gather!), and giving us useful safety tips. The day and the rally ended with the closing supper at the Brading Haven Yacht Club, and as usual they catered for us very well.